Are snakes deaf or not?

[Bianca]

I've been told my whole life that snakes are deaf, and only use the vibrations on the ground and the heat sensors to detect movement, and obviously capture prey.

But that loud, annoying Brady Barr on NG said that the fact that snakes are deaf is a myth, and that they just have really bad hearing abilities.

Now i've done some research and there really isn't much information available. I found this and thought it contradicted everything i'd been told/read/heard in my lifetime.

"Short answer: Yes. Although snakes lack an external ear or ear drum, their skin and bones pick up vibrations and transmit them to a functional inner ear. It was once believed that snakes could only detect vibrations transmitted through the ground, but is now known that they can indeed pick up even airborne sounds this way."
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_snakes_hear

Does anyone know for a fact whether snakes are deaf or not?

[Thehunter]

Very interesting, Im curious to this question aswell..

[mailjvdb]

I have never seen any snakes react to me talking or making noises. If you scream really loud or make any loud noise, the snake may pick up the vibrations caused by the sound traveling through the air, but other than that I have never ever seen snakes respond to any sound or noise. As far as i know they also lack eardrums (similar to ours), internal or external. They are more tuned into vibrations that's caused for example by someone walking, but I think sound vibrations, especially low sounds/bass would definitely have a effect on them. That all said, I don't think they can perceive sound in the same way we do. But then again, Brady Barr apparently knows everything, so who am I to challenge el gringo.

[Kev3]

"At roughly the same time, the dirt-gathering orifice of the ear permanently closed, presumably because it could be so easily damaged from sudden pressure changes in the constricted airspace of subterranean passages, and with it the lizard's delicate eardrum also vanished. At the same time, the auditory bones (that in other reptiles transmit airborne sounds from the eardrum to the aural nerves) fused to the lower jaw, leaving the evolving serpents deaf to all but a narrow range of earth-borne vibrations."

– Snakes of North America by Alan Tennant. – section on "The Evolution of Snakes"

...that's all the info i have on the subject...

[Bushviper]

Snakes can hear certain frequencies and are not totally deaf. If you bang a snake room door you often see them react although this could also be because of the change in air pressure which accompanies the sound.

[cordsally]

No no not at all, snake can not hear any frequencies,they r totally deaf,i m pretty much sure about this, this is challenge,if anybody proves the snakes r not deaf......................................

[Iggy]

@ cordsally, what's the prize

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5426&p=40517&hilit=shh+your+snake+might+here+you#p40517

[armata]

Snakes have vestigal stapes (inner ear) and can pick up some low frequency sounds. Will dig out the paper when I get back from my trip.